Meet renewable energy’s new ally

The renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) is an incentive provided to energy producers equal to 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, adjusted annually for inflation. If you generate electricity using a renewable system — geothermal, wind, solar, etc. — you’re eligible.

For now, anyway. The credit is expiring for most forms of energy creation at the end of 2013. For wind, it’s up at the end of 2012.

“We’ve got a growing economy that’s increasing energy consumption and wind energy should be part of the solution,” Rove said today on a panel at a wind conference in Atlanta. Extending the so-called production tax credit “should be a priority.”

Which … yes. It should. But this comes from one of the less popular figures in modern American politics, a guy firmly committed to leveraging our upended election laws to fulfill his long-standing goal of conservative political dominance. It’s like discovering that the obnoxious guy on the bus who’s annoying everyone is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of your favorite team.

On the plus side, Rove still has plenty of juice in Washington, D.C. Extending the PTC is a good move for wind energy producers and for the country at large, making it easier to generate renewable energy.